Christmas celebrated with religious fervor

Srinagar, Dec 25: Christmas, the birthday of Jesus Christ (AS), was celebrated Tuesday in Jammu & Kashmir with traditional enthusiasm and religious fervor, with special prayers held for world peace, brotherhood and safety of women.The biggest gathering was held at Holy Family Catholic Church at Moulana Azad Road in the heart of Srinagar city where hundreds of Christians including women and children assembled to celebrate the birthday of Jesus and participated in special prayers.The church was decorated with colorful buntings and balloons and wore a festive look.Tourists from different parts of the country and world joined the locals on the auspicious day and prayed for peace and brotherhood, especially for peace and calm in Kashmir.“We prayed for world peace and especially for peace in Kashmir. We wish peace to every brother and sister. God loves everyone and that love is shown by humans too by celebrating together, greeting each other and giving gifts. We should learn to forgive people... To change the world it is a must that we own people, poor, destitute and needy,” the priest at the Holy Family Catholic Church said.Many young girls prayed for the safety of women.“I prayed for the safety of women in the country...And that the women can roam freely in Delhi and elsewhere,” Mitchelle, a young girl from Mumbai said.She said what happened in Delhi last week was a cause of serious concern and expressed hope that such incidents would not take place in future.Mitchelle, like many tourists, expressed happiness over the way Christmas was celebrated here, but missed snowfall on the occasion."We had come from Mumbai to celebrate white Christmas here, but felt a little sad as there was no snowfall," she said, adding the celebrations were much better than in Mumbai.Another tourist from Mumbai, Peter Gonsalvez, expressed satisfaction over the celebration, describing it as a "great feeling" to celebrate Christmas in Kashmir.Similar gatherings were held at Saint Luke's church and All Saints' church in the city, Saint Joseph's church in north Kashmir's Baramulla, the oldest Catholic Church in Jammu and Kashmir, and at the church in the tourist resort of Gulmarg.

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